Under the title of Discipline, educational institutions in Pakistan from primary to universities, propagates the culture of conformity, and suppressing individuality of students. The term “discipline” is attached to respect, obedience, uniformity, subjugation and more specifically “Silence”. But is it really a discipline? Or cleverly crafted ruse to produce like-minded individuals who fear the powerful, master and authority.
Micheal Foucault highlighted in his book “Discipline and punishment”, that discipline is similar to panopticon, where prisoners are mentally controlled by the constant threat of surveillance, leading to self-censorship. In an education system, students are also conditioned to obey authority and rules without questioning and knowing it’s usefulness. Their creativity and critical thinking stifled by the weight of traditional system.
But What’s even more worse is the behavior of some teachers, who seem to adopt military-like approach to implement discipline and promote “Fojiism”.
Punishing students, belittling them, telling them “students don’t have self-respect” and making them feel inferior are all tactics used to enforce compliance. This kind of behavior is not only unprofessional but also damaging the mental health and cognitive abilities of students.
This approach to implement so called discipline, is not only ineffective but also harmful. Instead of fostering love for learning, it creates culture of fear and obedience. Students are not encouraged to think critically or creatively, but rather authority make them conform to their expectations. This is not at all education; but passive training.
Our ironic situation of education system is that we are so much focused on physical appearance, uniform, getup, physical appearance but when it comes to real discipline, we are completely lost. Simple things like putting garbage in dustbins, suddenly our discipline evaporates to air. It’s almost as we are more concerned with controlling students appearance than to teach them real values and ethics.
We need to review our idea that, Is discipline really lies in uniform ? Or is it the practical actions that truly matters? It’s time to rethink of our priorities and focus on what really counts. By embracing more prosperous approach to education, system that prioritize student- centered learning, creativity, and critical thinking, we can create a better individuals and better humans.
In contrast to progressive school systems like Finland where priorities are totally opposite, that is; student-centered learning, creativity, critical thinking and most importantly they don’t care what student is wearing. Finnish schools encourage their young minds to challenge the authority and bring new and unique ideas. As a result, generation of innovatives, curious, and confident minds are created, who are equipped to thrive in an ever changing world.
From Finnish school we can learn easily that “Disciplines is not about uniformity or conformity, it’s about creating the culture of love, respect, empathy, and mutual understanding. We can learn that true measure of discipline is not in the uniformity of dress but in the ability to think critically and challenge the existing ideas.
In conclusion, the Discipline Deception is clever ruse that controls creativity and propagate standardization over individuality. But it’s not too late to challenge this status quo and embrace a more progressive approach to education.
Let us create a culture of discipline that helps students grow, not feeling Low.
Rehab Razzaq
